The Gold Star Pin, so intimately associated with Gold Star Mothers is, in fact, not awarded by us nor is it limited to mothers. It is awarded by the Defense Dept, usually through your casualty officer. The pin is awarded to the following relatives of the deceased:

Widow, Widower, Mother, Father, Stepmother/father, Mother/father through adoption, Foster mother/father in loco parentis, Son, Daughter, Stepson/daughter, Son/daughter by adoption, Brother, Sister, Half brother/sister.

If you have not received your pin you can apply yourself using Defense Dept form DD-3. The form is in pdf format which means you must have Adobe Reader installed on your computer. You can fill out the form on your screen and then click the "Print Form" button to print it out on your printer.

If others in your family have not received their pins, make copies of Form DD-3 for them also. You can print the blank form to make multiple copies before filling it out for yourself.

Click here for form DD-3 in pdf format

If for any reason you can't get a copy of the online version of the form you can print a copy below. Your browser may automatically reduce the size of this image to fit on your screen. You must return it to full size before clicking on your browser print button. In Internet Explorer this is done by clicking on the image then clicking on the square orange button that appears. In Firefox, clicking on the image will expand the image to full size. Page 1 is the only page you need to print.

Click here for page 1 of Form DD-3

Click here for page 2 (instructions) of Form DD-3 

Please note the following:

If your loved one is recently deceased and you know your casualty officer, he should be able to help you get the pin.

If you are mailing in form DD-3, include a copy of DD-1300, Report of Casualty. This is the military equivalent of a death certificate. Even though this is not mentioned on the DD-3 instructions, you will likely be rejected for "insufficient proof" if you don't include it.